Samantha Shannon's debut novel THE BONE SEASON begins an
adult fantasy series with strong teen crossover appeal. In
2059, London is controlled by a security force called
Scion. Paige Mahoney is a clairvoyant. Her abilities are
feared by most people. In fact, being a voyant is
considered treason. Paige works with a group of voyants
called the Seven Seals led by Jaxon Hall. She is a
dreamwalker, which means that she uses her talents to scout
the aether for information in unsuspecting people's minds.
When she accidentally kills someone to avoid capture one
evening, she goes on the run. Despite her efforts to evade
capture, she is eventually caught, drugged, and taken to
Oxford, which is controlled by a group of otherworldly
beings called the Rephaim.
Her Rephaite keeper, known as Warden, is both her enemy and
her trainer. Paige and the other captives in Oxford are
divided into a strict hierarchy based on their ability to
succeed in a series of tests administered by the Rephaites.
Paige must work with Warden to learn to use her abilities
to survive the tests. When Nashira, the Rephaim queen,
decides that she wants to add Paige's unique talents as a
dreamwalker to her collection, Paige must find a way to
escape.
Like many fantasy series-openers, THE BONE SEASON includes
a lot of world-building to lay the foundation for the rest
of the series, and it takes some time to wade through those
explanations to get to the meat of the story. THE BONE
SEASON is
an adequate start to this highly-anticipated new dystopian
series. The world of Scion-controlled London is
interesting, and there is plenty of room for Jaxon and the
other members of the Seven Seals to develop throughout the
series. Paige is an appealing heroine, and there is still
much to be learned about both the depth and the nature of
her clairvoyant abilities. I look forward to seeing more
of this new world and the characters in it as the series
continues.
It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under
the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney
works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a
secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is
unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’
minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant,
and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by
breathing.
But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a
power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a
separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago
and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These
creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers
in their army.
Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be
in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her
natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige
will have to learn something of his mind and his own
mysterious motives.